Members with This Book
Most Helpful Reviews
see all reviews
Liked It “Because Achmed has found a dragon-claw dagger in the depths of the castle, Rhapsody goes with Ashe to return it before the dragon decides to come back for it first. Achmed and Grunthor strongly disagree, but Rhapsody will have her own way in this. As she and Ashe travel, the mystery around him...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
see all reviews-
“Not good, not bad, just an okay book, in my opinion.”
Patti C wrote this review Friday, October 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Because Achmed has found a dragon-claw dagger in the depths of the castle, Rhapsody goes with Ashe to return it before the dragon decides to come back for it first. Achmed and Grunthor strongly disagree, but Rhapsody will have her own way in this. As she and Ashe travel, the mystery around him deepens. Who is he? Why does he always remain behind a mask? And what of the F'dor, the demon bent on consuming the world in the unholy fire of destruction?
Aelvana wrote this review Tuesday, October 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Though clearly a sequel, in a nice touch the book beings with layers of dreams that present the backstory of the first book through the principal characters. This frames the story with enough background to barrel right ahead where the first book left off, with Ashe and Rhapsody charging into the wilderness to find a dragon. The relationship between the two of them is one of the main highlights of the book. It adds an uncomfortable layer to her relationship with Achmed and Grunthor, who see Ashe as a potential assassin at worst and competition for Rhapsody at best. And as Ashe and Rhapsody are both not prone to revealing much about themselves, the various misunderstandings that ensue range from hilarious to deadly. Their true relationship to each other, revealed at the end of the first book, is still a mystery even to them, which adds a nice tease as they both prefer to talk around their first love rather than about it.
Achmed and Grunthor, despite getting much less page time, are as hilarious as ever. Achmed in particular is full of zingers as he spars verbally with Rhapsody. His role as king doesn't get much play; the kingdom has settled, for the most part, and now it's down to the dirty business of actually ruling, in between bouts of further exploration or assassinations.
The action in this book tended to be sparse and intense, and mostly towards the end. For the most part, the tension lies in the politics and the relationships, both of which are good places for the series to be since Haydon writes characters so well. It also leaves off in a better place than last book: the mission is clear, but the method uncertain. The only thing they know for sure is that they're going to have to move soon.
Overall this is a great followup to Rhapsody. The prose feels tighter without quite so many detailed descriptions of Rhapsody's beauty, the witticisms are dead on, and the various bits of myth and history again make the book so much richer for their inclusion. Although the detailed introduction would allow this book to be read alone, I would pick up the first book first just to get all the action directly. I rate this book Highly Recommended.”
“This series started off strong for me then got less interesting. There are some dark, complex characters but they seemed lost at times behind the soap-opera plots. It's worth a read. Maybe it's just me...”
Kelly D wrote this review Saturday, September 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“the same as last, yay for fire swords”
bilbo baggins wrote this review Monday, August 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Pretty Good. ”
MLL wrote this review Friday, August 7 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Keeps the story moving and reveals a little more about the character's past and how evil threatens (of course) to destroy the world. It was exciting and engaging.”
Stephanie G wrote this review Tuesday, July 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This series is high fantasy at its best. Haydon has clearly done her homework, and the myths of her fictitious world resonate with our own while managing at the same time to fit together into a seamless whole. The characters, strange though some of them may be, are absolutely wonderful and lovable. My heart soared and broke with theirs.
Erica C wrote this review Thursday, June 26 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This series manages to be a grand clash of good versus evil, while still maintaining all those murky shades of gray in between--so many fantasy stories can only manage one or the other. This first trilogy was grand and beautiful and the subsequent books I've read so far have also been great. I look forward to anything Elizabeth Haydon has to offer.”
“I love this series!”
Wyld4Books wrote this review Wednesday, June 18 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
displaying 1-9 of 9
